Reviews

The Devil's Elixir Complete by E.T.A. Hoffmann

madberry's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

franny2111's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

hyeanason's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

puddles_of_ink's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jarn17's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

azure_dawn's review against another edition

5.0

OH MY GOD, this is sooo fun. I expected this to be a snooze-fest with some religious undertones, but it honestly reads like a thriller! I couldn't stop reading! The twists! The murders! The drama!
EVERYTHING is tied together perfectly! And the reveals are done in a way, that is unique and makes you think about the evolution of stories (there is literally a several page-long infodamp, which introduces like 5 new characters which never show up outside of that infodump).

AND AND ALSO
This story is extremely smart about the medium of books! Like this is literally some meta-thinking, oh my god.

Love this one to death.

pufford's review against another edition

5.0

I read this a few years ago, and just remembered it. Though I'm not entirely sure how I might have forgotten it... This is without doubt one of the most bizarre and disturbing books I've ever read. Which give the weirdness of many of my choices, is rather impressive!

noirish's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

mint_renegade's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

dijana_z's review against another edition

3.0

Iskrena da budem malo me je izmučila ova knjiga. Nije ona loša, ali moje raspoloženje nije bilo za ovu knjigu sada definitivno, i mislim da bi pametnije bilo da sam je ostavila i čitala nekom drugom prilikom ali šta je tu je.

Sama tematika je interesantna, pratimo kaluđera čiji je ceo život manje-više jedno veliko iskušenje u koje ga je bacilo njegovo poreklo, koraci koji su drugi ljudi mnogo pre njega pravili, ali i oni za koje je on sam odgovoran. Stil je, za doba u kom je ovo pisano, prilično pitak. Ali ipak, bilo mi je naporno za čitanje, nekako sam u tom periodu počela mnogo knjiga koje mi nikako nisu držale pažnju pa je to nažalost bio slučaj i sa ovom. Tako da sam morala malo smanjiti ocenu koja bi nekom drugom prilikom možda bila četvorka čisto zbog mog sveobuhvatnog iskustva čitanja ovog romana.